Books like 'The Monsters We Defy'
Readers who enjoyed The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope & L. Penelope also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical fantasy mystery action / adventure historical-fiction poc-mc heist black-mc urban
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The Library of Babel by Jorge Luis Borges, Erik Desmazieres
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsJorge Luis Borges's famous 1941 meditation on language, alphabets, and the library that contains all knowledge is an allegory of our Universe, and in this edition is complemented and enhanced by the etching of the French artist, Érik Desmazières...Categorized as:
historical-fiction poc-mc 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook book classics -
The Grail Quest Trilogy (The Archers Tale, Vagabond, Heretic) by Bernard Cornwell
Rated: 4.46 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsCornwell's Thomas of Hookton Three-Book For a limited time get three of Bernard Cornwell's works of historical fiction in one easy-to-order package, including Cornwell's latest, Heretic... -
Breaking and Entering 101 by Honor Raconteur
Rated: 4.45 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsSince Jamie and Henri agreed to be Kingsmen consultants, they’d not had much call to actually consult. Which is a fortuitous thing, as Henri is up to his neck in labwork and interviews for a new Magical Examiner due to Sanderson’s departing. He is hardly in any position to add more tasks onto his shoulders.Which, naturally, means two disasters strike at once... -
The Apothecary Diaries (Light Novel): Volume 8 by Natsu Hyuuga
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe whole capital seems to have gone Go-crazy when Lakan publishes a book about his games. He’s got even bigger plans, holding a Go tournament that’s open to all—and rumor has it that if anyone can topple the strategist himself, he’ll grant them any single request they might ask. Jinshi sees an opportunity... -
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Sea Spray by John A. Heldt
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsMonths after stealing two time machines from a madman who wants them back, the Lanes, a family of seven, seek peace and safety in 1927, the latest stop on a journey through time. For a while, each succeeds.Parents Mark and Mary find housing in affluent East Hampton, New York, where a gracious elderly couple offers use of their mansion. Son Jordan and his new wife, Jessie, plan a family...Categorized as:
urban historical-fiction north-america usa maryland new-york-state connecticut rhode-island -
In Plain Sight by Dan Willis
Rated: 4.37 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsWhen a magical plague is released in a Depression-era New York soup kitchen, private detective Alex Lockerby finds himself in a desperate hunt to catch a madman before he can strike again.His investigations lead Alex to a famous thief, a daring heist, and the search for a mythic book of ancient magic, but none of that brings him any closer to finding the man responsible for the massacre...Categorized as:
historical-fiction urban action-adventure adult alternate-history audiobook book cozy -
The Stolen Queen by Fiona Davis
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFrom New York Times bestselling author Fiona Davis, an utterly addictive new novel that will transport you from New York City’s most glamorous party to the labyrinth streets of Cairo and back. Egypt, 1936: When anthropology student Charlotte Cross is offered a coveted spot on an archaeological dig in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings, she leaps at the opportunity...Categorized as:
historical-fiction fiction mystery historical fantasy action-adventure audiobook crime -
The Pillars of Enoch: Templars and the Melungeon Legacy by David S. Brody
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAn elderly recluse informs historian Cameron Thorne that he has discovered the secret at the core of Freemasonry. The next day, he is killed. Thorne quickly focuses on a mysterious stone tablet, given to Moses by God along with the Ten Commandments, purportedly passed down to the Freemasons by the medieval Knights Templar...Categorized as:
historical-fiction action-adventure mystery fiction fantasy espionage historical political-intrigue -
The Long Chain by Dan Willis
Rated: 4.51 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsWhen New York is blanketed in an unnatural fog, Private Detective Alex Lockerby finds himself on the trail of a missing scientist, a stolen military secret, and a merciless killer leaving a trail of bodies in their wake.In a city the size of New York, things go missing all the time. When a Nobel-Prize winning Chemist vanishes without a trace, his granddaughter taps Alex to find him...Categorized as:
historical-fiction urban 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook book dieselpunk -
My Sister the Moon by Sue Harrison
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIn prehistoric Alaska, an Aleut girl, unwanted and abused, changes the destiny of her tribe.Gray Bird wanted only sons. His daughter, Kiin, would have been killed at birth to make way for a male heir if not for the tribal chief, Kayugh, who claimed the infant as a future wife for one of his two young sons...Categorized as:
historical-fiction poc-mc action-adventure adult ancient-civilization book family fiction -
The Apothecary Diaries (Light Novel): Volume 3 by Natsu Hyuuga
Rated: 4.46 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsMaomao must help keep Consort Gyokuyou safe during her pregnancy. An imperial consort being with child is supposed to be a matter of the utmost secrecy, but this is the rear palace, where maneuvering and backstabbing are as commonplace as banter and tea parties. Threats seem to lurk around every corner—but it’s not just the rear palace keeping busy...Categorized as:
historical-fiction romance mystery historical fantasy fiction young-adult action-adventure -
The Apothecary Diaries (Light Novel): Volume 4 by Natsu Hyuuga
Rated: 4.46 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsThough her main duty is still looking after Consort Gyokuyou, Maomao finds time to help her friends and acquaintances in the rear palace, including Xiaolan, who will need a job after her term of service ends, and Consort Lishu, who’s convinced she’s seen a ghost! When complications arise with Gyokuyou’s pregnancy, however, Maomao knows she’s not skilled enough to handle a situation that could...Categorized as:
historical-fiction romance mystery historical fiction fantasy young-adult action-adventure -
Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark by Campbell Black
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsIndiana Jones, archeology professor and swashbuckling adventurer, has unearthed many an ancient treasure. But now the very future of the world depends on his finding one special relic...Categorized as:
historical-fiction action-adventure book classics fiction historical literary mystery -
The Robert E. Howard Omnibus: 99 Collected Stories (Halcyon Classics) by Robert E. Howard
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratings97 short stories and novellas DRM free, active table of contents for easy navigation... -
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La spia del mare by Virginia De Winter
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsVenezia, 1741. Cordelia Sheffield è una spia inglese, bella, intelligente e letale. Cassandra Giustinian invece è una nobile veneziana dalla grazia incantevole, colpita da una misteriosa malattia. Nessuno sa che sono gemelle, che dividono un'unica vita e l'amore per lo stesso uomo: lo splendido Cassian d'Armer, una spia del Doge, tormentato da un passato di guerra e violenza... -
Time of the Dragons by Robert Shea
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsShike is a novel about two characters: Jebu, a fighting monk of the Order of Zinja, and Taniko, the minor noblewoman with whom he falls in love on his first mission - escorting her to an arranged marriage with a far older and extremely influential nobleman... -
The Girl with No Face by M.H. Boroson
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe adventures of Li-lin, a Daoist priestess with the unique ability to see the spirit world, continue in the thrilling follow-up to the critically-acclaimed historical urban fantasy The Girl with Ghost Eyes.It’s the end of the Nineteenth Century. San Francisco’s cobblestone streets are haunted, but Chinatown has an unlikely protector in a young Daoist priestess named Li-lin... -
Last of the Zinja by Robert Shea
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsBeautiful young Taniko struggles under oppression as the mistress of the cruel Kublai Khan, and Jebu, a young monk, is transformed into a fierce warrior, in a saga of the ancient Orient during a time of bloodshed and magic. Reprint...Categorized as:
historical-fiction action-adventure book fiction historical military mystery young-adult -
The Clockwork Ghost by Laura Ruby
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIt was only a few weeks ago that the Biedermann twins, Tess and Theo, along with their friend Jaime Cruz, followed the secrets of the Morningstarrs’ cipher further anyone had in its century-and-a-half history—and destroyed their beloved home in the process. But the Old York Cipher still isn’t solved. The demolition of 354 W...Categorized as:
historical-fiction urban action-adventure alternate-history audiobook book children children-books -
The Lost Heir by E.G. Foley
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsNY Times & USA Today bestselling author E.G. Foley presents The Gryphon Chronicles, a new series of historical fantasy adventures that's as much fun for grownups as it is for kids!Strange new talents...Jake is a scrappy orphaned pickpocket living by his wits on the streets of Victorian London...Categorized as:
historical-fiction urban action-adventure audiobook book children children-books dragons -
Shadow Knights by Jennifer Anne Davis
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsAs a member of the Knights of the Realm, Reid swore an oath to protect her king only to discover he harbors a traitorous agenda.Being a woman raised in a man’s world, Reid thought becoming a Knight would give her purpose and strength. So far, it has done nothing but give her trouble... -
The Good Thieves by Katherine Rundell
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsFrom award-winning author Katherine Rundell comes a fast-paced, sharp-turning, and utterly thrilling adventure, one driven at its heart by an extraordinarily powerful evocation of the loyalty and love between a grandfather and his granddaughter... -
Warriors and Warlocks: Qutuz by Monther Alkabbani, Timothy Gregory
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsTrapped outside the stream of reality, Murad seems restricted by one rule: you can look, but you can’t touch. The one person he can reliably talk to, when the man is around, answers questions with riddles that would have made Murad’s head hurt—if he had one. He watches, helpless, as Yasimi and her companions are captured and given a drink that would make them slaves... -
Dread Nation by Justina Ireland
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsJane McKeene was born two days before the dead began to walk the battlefields of Gettysburg and Chancellorsville—derailing the War Between the States and changing America forever. In this new nation, safety for all depends on the work of a few, and laws like the Native and Negro Reeducation Act require certain children attend combat schools to learn to put down the dead...Categorized as:
historical-fiction poc-mc urban action-adventure alternate-history audiobook book civil-war -
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A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsNebula, Locus, and Alex Award-winner P. Djèlí Clark returns to his popular alternate Cairo universe for his fantasy novel debut, A Master of DjinnCairo, 1912: Though Fatma el-Sha’arawi is the youngest woman working for the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities, she’s certainly not a rookie, especially after preventing the destruction of the universe last summer...Categorized as:
historical-fiction poc-mc urban action-adventure adult africa alternate-history audiobook -
The Silvered Serpents by Roshani Chokshi
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsThey are each other's fiercest love, greatest danger, and only hope. Séverin and his team members might have successfully thwarted the Fallen House, but victory came at a terrible cost -- one that still haunts all of them. Desperate to make amends, Séverin pursues a dangerous lead to find a long lost artifact rumoured to grant its possessor the power of God...Categorized as:
heist historical-fiction poc-mc action-adventure alternate-history asian-mc audiobook book -
The Bronzed Beasts by Roshani Chokshi
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsIn love they breathed. In destiny they believed. In the end, will divinity be their demise?After Séverin's seeming betrayal, the crew is fractured. Armed with only a handful of hints, Enrique, Laila, Hypnos and Zofia must find their way through the snarled, haunted waterways of Venice, Italy to locate Séverin...Categorized as:
heist historical-fiction poc-mc action-adventure asian-mc audiobook book dark-academia -
Lady Henterman's Wardrobe by Marshall Ryan Maresca
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsMixing high fantasy and urban fantasy, the second novel of the Streets of Maradaine series follows the Rynax brothers' crew of outlaws as they attempt their biggest heist yet and restore justice to the common people.The neighborhood of North Seleth has suffered--and not just the Holver Alley Fire... -
Heartseeker by Melinda Beatty
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA vibrant fantasy-adventure debut about a girl who can see lies.You're a Fallow of the Orchard. You're as tough as a green apple in summer . . . Only Fallow was just six harvests old when she realized that not everyone sees lies. For Only, seeing lies is as beautiful as looking through a kaleidoscope, but telling them is as painful as gnawing on cut glass...Categorized as:
historical-fiction action-adventure book children-books fiction historical low-fantasy middle-grade -
Sunset Specters by Gary Jonas
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA SORCERER SEEKING IMMORTALITY The powerful wizard, Henry Winslow, arrives in 1877 and sets out for the Barbary Coast in San Francisco to steal a bit of life energy from his parents before he can head to the 1920s to complete his immortality ritual... -
Forbidden Land by William Sarabande
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe spellbinding epic adventure of a time when mankind took its first steps and the icy wilds claimed the earth. Breathtaking, vivid, unforgettable--here is the third volume of the panoramic new series The First Americans which began with Beyond The Sea Of Ice and continued with Corridor Of Storms...Categorized as:
historical-fiction poc-mc action-adventure adult book fiction historical indigenous-mc -
Walkers of the Wind by William Sarabande
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA breathtaking epic of humanity's first courageous struggles . . . for survivalMesmerizing, dramatic, unsurpasses in scope and suthenticity, this is the fourth exciting volume of the magnificent new series THE FIRST AMERICANS, which began with Beyond the Sea of Ice and continued with Corridor of Storms and Forbidden Land... -
Sound the Gong by Joan He
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsFrom New York Times and Indie bestselling author Joan He, comes the dazzling and sweeping conclusion to The Kingdom of Three duology, Sound the Gong, the breathtaking sequel to the critically-acclaimed Strike the Zither.All her life, Zephyr has tried to rise above her humble origins as a no-name orphan. Now she is a god in a warrior’s body, and never has she felt more powerless... -
Fly Trap by Frances Hardinge
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsHaving barely escaped the revolution they had a huge (if accidental) part in causing, sharp-eyed orphan Mosca Mye; her guard goose, Saracen; and their sometimes-loyal companion, the con man Eponymous Clent, must start anew...Categorized as:
historical-fiction urban action-adventure animals audiobook book children children-books -
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Starcrossed by Allie Therin
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWhen everything they’ve built is threatened, only their bond remains…New York, 1925Psychometric Rory Brodigan’s life hasn’t been the same since the day he met Arthur Kenzie. Arthur’s continued quest to contain supernatural relics that pose a threat to the world has captured Rory’s imagination—and his heart...Categorized as:
historical-fiction urban 20th-century action-adventure adult age-gap alternate-history audiobook -
The Masquerades of Spring by Ben Aaronovitch
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsMeet Augustus Berrycloth-Young—fop, flaneur, and Englishman abroad—as he chronicles the Jazz Age from his perch atop the city that never sleeps... -
The Haunting of Tram Car 015 by P. Djèlí Clark
Rated: 4.02 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsThe Haunting of Tram Car 015 returns to the alternate Cairo of Clark's short fiction, where humans live and work alongside otherworldly beings; the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities handles the issues that can arise between the magical and the mundane...Categorized as:
historical-fiction poc-mc urban 21st-century action-adventure adult afrofuturism alternate-history -
The Visitant by Kathleen O'Neal Gear, W. Michael Gear
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsAt the Dawn of the Age of the Katsinas...A woman runs away in search of a Spirit Helper and never returns...An ancient village is swept into a shattering crime beyond reason, beyond belief...An old man must learn to walk the dark labyrinth of a murderer's mind to find him before he can strike again..Categorized as:
historical-fiction poc-mc action-adventure adult archaeology book female-author fiction -
Wonderstruck by Allie Therin
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsDon’t miss the stunning conclusion to Allie Therin’s Magic in Manhattan series! New York, 1925 Arthur Kenzie is on a mission: to destroy the powerful supernatural relic that threatens Manhattan—and all the nonmagical minds in the world. So far his search has been fruitless. All it has done is keep him from the man he loves... -
The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow by Katherine Woodfine
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsYou are cordially invited to attend the Grand Opening of Sinclair’s department store!Enter a world of bonbons, hats, perfumes and MYSTERIES around every corner...Categorized as:
urban historical-fiction europe british-isles united-kingdom england mystery middle-grade -
A Dead Djinn in Cairo by P. Djèlí Clark
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 39 ratingsEgypt, 1912. In an alternate Cairo infused with the otherworldly, the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities investigate disturbances between the mortal and the (possibly) divine...Categorized as:
historical-fiction poc-mc urban action-adventure adult alternate-history angels audiobook -
By Divine Right by Patrick W. Carr
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWillet Dura ekes out a living as an assistant reeve in the city of Bunard, the royal city, investigating minor and not-so-minor crimes in the poor quarter. Ever since a terrible battle, Willet's been drawn to the dead, and has an uncanny ability not only to solve their crimes, but even to know when one has been committed... -
Dangerous Spirits by Jordan L. Hawk
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsAfter the events of Reyhome Castle, Henry Strauss expected the Psychical Society to embrace his application of science to the study of hauntings. Instead, the society humiliates and blacklists him. His confidence shaken, he can't bring himself to admit the truth to his lover, the handsome medium Vincent Night... -
Empires of Sand by David Ball
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAn epic novel of adventure in the grandest tradition of historical fiction, Empires of Sand takes us on a thrilling, unforgettable journey. As civilizations collide around two men, a battle begins: for survival, for love, and for a destiny written in a desert's shifting sands.The year is 1870. Paris is under siege, and two boys, best friends and cousins, are swept from their life of privilege... -
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She Who Remembers by Linda Lay Shuler
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsKwani. A beautiful woman born in the American southwest into the long extinct Anasazi tribe, long before Columbus...whose blue eyes marked her as a witch and set her apart from the Indian tribe that raised her... -
Murder In Absentia by Assaph Mehr
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA young man is found dead in his bed, with a look of extreme agony on his face and strange tattoos all over his body. His distraught senator father suspects foul play, and knows who to call on.Enter Felix, a professional investigator. In the business of ferreting out dark information for his clients, Felix is neither a traditional detective nor a traditional magician – but something in between... -
The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 70 ratingsHenry “Monty” Montague was born and bred to be a gentleman, but he was never one to be tamed. The finest boarding schools in England and the constant disapproval of his father haven’t been able to curb any of his roguish passions—not for gambling halls, late nights spent with a bottle of spirits, or waking up in the arms of women or men... -
Escape from Baghdad! by Saad Z. Hossain
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsTwo down on their luck black-marketeers, Dagr and Kinza, have inherited a very important prisoner: the former star torturer of Saddam’s recently collapsed Ba’athist regime, Captain Hamid, who promises them untold riches if they smuggle him to Mosul. With the heat on, they enlist the help of Private Hoffman, their partner in crime and a U.S...Categorized as:
historical-fiction poc-mc 21st-century action-adventure adult book fiction historical -
Ghosts & Garlands by Kelley Armstrong
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsVictorian novelist Miranda Hastings is in London for a modern-day Christmas with the man she loves, and they want to see everything. Luckily, they have friends who are going to make sure they get their wish. They’re sent on a whirlwind holiday adventure, following their friends’ mysterious messages…until an encounter with a ghost who was part of an infamous gang of highwaymen... -
Kyriakis Curse by Eve Vaughn
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsHalf-breed shifter Sarah doesn't trust other shifters; they killed her parents. Constantine's not on the market for a mate. But when he meets Sarah, that all changes in a heartbeat. Too bad someone wants her dead...
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